


For the Good of Hyrule

by SwoodMaxProductions



Series: Hyrule Warriors 2 AU [18]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Alliance AU, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Carrying, Fainting, Gen, Ghirahim can have a little murder. As a treat., Good Ganondorf (Legend of Zelda), Good Ghirahim, Healing Magic, Hurt/Comfort, Parental Instinct, Paternal Instinct, Protectiveness, Rescue, Stabbing, Uno reverse card on the assassination, Whump, ganondad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 23:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28875687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwoodMaxProductions/pseuds/SwoodMaxProductions
Summary: Link is nearly killed for not opposing enemies of the gods. The assassin is proved wrong in his conviction that tradition must be upheld at any cost by the fact that the man who saves the hero’s life is none other than Ganondorf.
Series: Hyrule Warriors 2 AU [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750702
Kudos: 33





	For the Good of Hyrule

“Sir Link. I trust you know why I’m here.”

The young knight squinted through the gloom of the night.

“Magister Ahru?! But you were dismissed— by the princess herself!”

The rogue courtier stepped forward.

“You need to listen to me, Sir Link. This alliance is madness. No good can possibly come from consorting with the enemy! Surely you, as the Goddess’s Chosen Hero, can see the folly in this!”

“The enemy?! You don’t think, oh, I dunno, the  _ pair of demented sorceresses tearing time apart at the seams for a chance to try to get into my pants _ are the enemy?”

The former advisor sighed in exasperation.

“Ganondorf has been  _ watching _ you. Following from a distance. He is the King of Evil! You can’t possibly believe he won’t betray us!”

Link kept staring him down. It was this very prejudice that got him kicked out of the castle. Hyrule couldn’t afford to allow his fearmongering. They were up against two borderline goddesses, they needed all the help they could get.

“Ahru.  _ Please. _ You got into trouble once for not letting this go. I’m not… joining you, I’m not supporting you… If you keep going with this, it just might get us all killed. We need each other.”

Link didn’t see the dagger move and glint in the dark until it was too late.

Recoiling from the pain of the first wound, he was unprepared for the next. By the time his hands were being slashed in a panicked, haphazard defense, he had already incurred serious wounds to his torso. Taken by surprise, he was disgusted by his own uselessness. He knew Ahru was crazy. But he never suspected he was capable of murder. At least, not in person. Surely as a magister he had  _ people _ for that.

He didn’t know how long it lasted. It felt like seconds, but it also felt like hours. The pain was excruciating.

There was a flash, a crack. Ahru fled in terror. And then there were the rapidly-approaching footfalls of something very, VERY big.

“LINK!”

The warmth of healing magic and the sensation of being hurriedly, but gently, scooped up as though he were a ragdoll prompted Link to pry open his eyes.

It was Ganondorf.

Link found himself being carried, one massive hand splayed over several of his wounds, infusing magical healing into his shredded flesh. But not quickly enough.

“Damn you, boy, you’ve lived through worse than this! I swear, if you die…!”

He was cold. He recognized the symptoms of blood loss. They were going… somewhere. He couldn’t tell. Poor Ganondorf had an encyclopedic knowledge, especially of magic, but healing wasn’t at the top of the list— or at least, not enough to heal Link fast enough. They teleported. Either that or his quite-possibly-dying mind was playing tricks on him.

The young warrior’s body sagged pitifully against Ganondorf’s chest. 

“You’re almost there— Link?!”

He wanted to stay awake, to ease the unmistakable fear in Ganondorf’s voice. But he simply… couldn’t.

~~~

If Zoras had sweat glands, Mipha would be sweating. One of the Links had been brought in by Ganondorf, of all people. She’d never seen the Gerudo King…  _ afraid. _ Both of them hoped that Link had been brought to her in time. 

As the healer coaxed Link back from the brink of death, she could hear Ganondorf addressing someone via Gossip Stone. Someone apparently named… Ghirahim.

~~~

The advisor left a trail. His footprints, his aura. broken branches. And, of course, the scent of blood. He would recognize the blood of one of Hylia’s Chosen anywhere.

Ghirahim smiled as he watched the treacherous Hylian enter the hidden grotto with his entourage. It was a bottleneck. The sword spirit moved after them, to strike while he would be blocking their easiest escape route.

He was under strict orders to retrieve the traitor alive, presumably to make an example of him. The mercenaries he was employing, however…  _ they _ were fair game…

~~~

Link slowly opened his eyes, his body weak and still in pain. He was… alive? Alive, and in a bed. Mipha and Ganondorf stood near his bedside, speaking softly so as not to wake him, not yet noticing his stirring.

“...How did you know?”

The massive Gerudo smirked. “I’ve come to recognize conspiracy when I see it. If I didn’t, I’d likely not be standing here now. The boy is out of my sight not an hour and there’s an attempt on his life. Unbelievable.”

“It was fortunate that you made it to him in time.”

“Indeed.”

Link cleared his throat, grimacing in pain due to the stab wounds.

“Link!”

“...Hi.”

He looked up at Ganondorf. He seemed even bigger standing over his bed like that, but the walking mountain of a warlock had saved him.

“...Thank you. You… you saved my life.”

Ganondorf smiled. It was the first time Mipha had ever seen him do so.

“If you’re wondering, Ahru won’t get away wi—“

Right on cue, Ghirahim burst into the room, bloodied and grinning.

“Master! I’ve come to report that the ex-magister has been delivered to the royal guard, very much alive.”

“...Then why are you covered in blood,” asked Ganondorf.

“He had a retinue of mercenaries on hand.”

“...I see.”

“Are— are you alright?!” said Mipha, gathering her healing power.

“Yes, actually. This is all theirs, I don’t have blood.”

“...Oh.”

~~~

“Link! I came as soon as I got word you’d woken up! How are you feeling?”

Princess Zelda sat down at her friend’s bedside, the young knight smiling weakly up at her.

“Like I just got stabbed a lot.”

Zelda laughed.

“I just wanted to let you know that the man who did this to you is being charged with treason and attempted murder as we speak. I imagine the word “attempted” in there won’t escape his notice. The look on his face…”

“Good. He was…”

“...Batshit?” Zelda whispered to him.

They both snorted.

“Yeah,” Link said with a weak smile.

“He’s actually given us a bit of information on his supporters. Ganondorf told him he could be executed by decapitation, or he could be put in a room with Ghirahim…”

“Yikes.”

“And really, it just goes to show how wrong Ahru was. If Ganondorf hadn’t been there, you’d likely not have survived…”

“And Ahru might not have been caught, either. Ghirahim tracked him down.”

For a time where everything Hyrule thought it knew was being called into question, it certainly didn’t feel like something bad. In fact, it felt… reassuring.


End file.
